Aquatic decoy



Sept 12,1950 J. H. oLsEN 2,522,295

AQUATIC 'DECOY Filed Dec. 29, 1945 IN V EN TOR.

A TToR/VEYS.

pletely spanning and enclosing its lower portion; and a flat balancing or righting member such as a Wooden board 'I snugly engaging the lower external surface of the body bottom 6 and being firmly secured thereto by a number of bolts or screws 8 piercing the bottom 6 and coacting with an internal anchoring strip or plate 9. The body 5 and bottom 6 are preferably produced in the well known type of suction molding machine, and in order to permit the pulp stock to be fed to the molds, the top of each body 5 is provided with a tapered hole or opening I which may subsequently be closed and effectively sealed by a. fibrous pulp plug II cemented within the opening I0 flush with the body top surface.

While the righting board 'I which is preferably formed of relatively heavy but buoyant material such as wood, may be caused to snugly engage the body bottom 6 throughout its entire area by slightly dishing the lower surface of the bottom 6 during the molding operation, some provision must be made for eliminating possible leakage or seepage of liquid into the hollow body 5, if the fasteners or screws 8 are permitted to pierce the bottom '5. Such piercing is necessary in order to positively anchor the board 1 to the body 5 since the screws 8 if embedded in the relatively soft pulp alone, would not hold. I therefore provide the elongated internal anchoring plate 9 which is preferably formed of wood, or wood composition, or plastic; and in addition to this plate 9, I also provide a layer I2 of some suitable sealing and water-proofing substance such as asphalt, tar, or pitch, between the inner upper surface of the body bottom 6 and the anchoring strip 9. As shown, the opening I0 is made relatively small so as to enable ready and effective sealing, but the plate 9, while being narrower than the opening I0 to permit insertion therethrough, is of greater dimension in length than the opening I0 to provide maximum anchorage for the board `I.

During commercial production of these improved aquatic decoys, the hollow pulp bodies 5 and the integral bottoms rf5 may first be produced in the usual manner with the aid of ordinary suction pulp molding machines. A layer I2 of hot molten asphalt, tar, or pitch may then be applied to the upper surface of the flat bottom 6 of each body 5, through the top opening I0, whereupon the anchoring strip or plate 9 may be inserted into the interior of the body 5 through opening I0 and embedded in the layer I2 of adhesive material while still in molten condition. Before the layer I2 has cooled suciently to become completely hardened, the outer board I and the screws 8 should be applied so as to clamp the board l' and the anchoring plate 9 firmly in place and to simultaneously thoroughly seal the screw holes with water-proof substance; and it is to be noted that while some of the screws 8 are applied from the outside of the body 5, others may be applied and manipulated through the opening I0. After the righting board I and anchoring plate 9 have been thus permanently and rigidly attached to the body 5, the opening I0 may be sealed by a plug Il so as to complete the decoy.

From the foregoing detailed description it will be apparent that my present invention provides an improved aquatic decoy which is simple and durable in structure, and which is self-righting while floating. The improved decoy may be readily constructed of molded fibrous pulp with a hollow body 5 having an integral closure bottom 6, and the balancing and righting device may be firmly, neatly, and readily attached to the bottom 6 without danger of introducing leakage passages or spaces. The present improved assemblage positively eliminates necessity of providing extensive openings at the bottom of the decoy which is subject to prolonged exposure to the water, while still permitting permanent attachment of the righting board member 'I directly to the bottom 6; and the heavy layer I2 of Waterproofing asphalt, tar, or pitch besides insuring a perfect seal, also strengthens the decoy structure and prevents the pulp base from becoming porous and soft. The improved decoys may be conveniently constructed `and assembled from inexpensive materials and at moderate cost, and the completed structures besides being light and strong, automatically right themselves and present a highly finished life-like appearance.

It should be understood that it is not desired to limit this invention to the exact details of construction or to the precise mode of manufacture, herein shown and described, for various modifications within the scope of the appended claim, may occur to persons skilled in the art.

I claim:

An aquatic decoy comprising, a unitary hollow molded pulp body totally enclosed except for a local restricted opening formed in its top above its bottom, a buoyant righting board coacting with the lower outer surf-ace of said bodv bottom, a layer of adhesive water-proofing material covering the entire upper inner surface of said bottom, an anchoring plate insertible within said body through said opening and coacting with said adhesive layer, means for directly fastening said board and plate together to partially embed the plate Within the adhesive material, and a closure plug formed flush with the external bounding surface of the body for sealing said opening, said plate having a dimension greater than the width of said opening.

JOHN H. OLSEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Great Britain Oct. 5,- 1936 

